CLE Urban Winery looks to embrace community while making wine (photos, video)

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio - The bustling vibe of Cedar and Lee, with its iconic theaters, coffee shops, restaurants and shopping, will be jazzed up a bit with the opening of CLE Urban Winery this summer.

Actually, from owner Destiny Burns' vision, it will be as much of a philanthropic art studio, a living and breathing part of a vibrant community, as it will be a winery.

Scheduled to open Friday, July 1, the winery is in the process of finalizing construction and electrical work. Trac lighting will be put in, as well as a shelf bar that will face the winery equipment. A cherry wine bar already is in place. Perhaps most importantly, a Slushee machine will be installed.

"We're going to do more of a nice dry Cab," Burns said. "It won't be super sweet. You'll know its wine."

She said she looked at spaces in Little Italy and Shaker Heights but took to the "blank canvas" that the 4,400-square-foot space offered on the west side of Lee Road.

Burns takes the idea of a canvas literally: She had a mural created atop the windows facing the winery equipment.

"On the mural, wine becomes the river becomes the grape vine," she said of the graffiti flow. "The whole look and feel is industrial, but it (the mural) adds to the color."

Burns also donates to Graffiti HeArt, a local non-profit promoting street art as an appreciated art form and art-education programs.

Burns remains as focused with CLE Urban Winery as she probably was during her career as a cryptographer in the Navy. She sees three clear facets of the business:

Good wine made fun: "We need to try to demystify wine," winemaker Dave Mazzone said. "There's a level of pretentiousness that detours people from learning about wine."

One of the CLE Urban Winery labels.

Celebrating Cleveland: Burns sees her business as being an active part of the community, both in the smaller enclave of Cleveland Heights and the macro Greater Cleveland area. The labels are photographic images of the city.

"Everything we do is celebrating Cleveland," Burns said. "I'm positioning myself as the Great Lakes Brewing of wine, I want to be the wine companion."

Drinking wine and doing good: Burns also was a volunteer firefighter and recognizes the sacrifices of first-responders. To that end, she will offer a portion of proceeds for Hometown Heroes Peach Chardonnay to related charities.

She also wants local firefighters and police units to bring in a patch for a wall display. And, she said, "veterans and first-responders will get a discount every day of the year."

Burns said she wants to explore partnerships: Donations for Cleveland Heights' non-profits also are on the horizon, a "Cedar Lee Chardonnay" aged in stainless steel will be "nice and crisp," and nearby Dobama Theatre might be a provider for CLE Urban Winery, she said.

"I think the business will compliment the other business on Lee Road," she said.

Wine as a career

Burns, from Euclid, spent 20 years in the Navy and fell into a love of wine. But Mazzone grew up in Chagrin Falls around wine and stayed in the business. Burns reached out to Mazzone two years ago about the venture.

"By the time I was 22, I wanted to take it seriously," he said. He served in tasting rooms, worked the grunt tasks of the harvest, was a winemaker, and took a job with a local distributor, where he still works.

"Good wine is grown in the vineyard," he said. "I want to have the least amount of intervention."

For Burns, she joined the Navy right out of high school in a "get the heck out of Dodge" mindset. After two decades, she wanted to come home and looked to the food and wine industry as a career choice. For Burns, the sole investor, this is an all-in proposition. She said it is an exciting albeit major career shift.

"This is a major investment," she said. "It's a gamble."

So far, plans are moving along: "Everything has fallen into place," Burns said.

About the wine

Mazzone has connections with grape growers and often will be able to specify what he wants and when he wants it. Ohio grapes might be used on occasion, he said.

"We'll absolutely jump on local grapes if possible," Mazzone said. "I'll be in control of the vineyard. I'll tell them 'I need Cabernet grapes from this vineyard'. I have relationships with people I trust to do that."

* The space will be home to many related projects: An art gallery (possibly items on consignment, Burns said), yoga classes, cooking demonstrations, board games and corn hole. Burns wants to encourage parties, fundraisers, wine clubs and popup businesses.

* Mazzone and Burns will offer the equivalent of a brew-on-premise option. It's part of the priority to educate people about wine, and Mazzone will guide patrons in the process.

* Taking a page from the wine-and-canvas programs throughout wineries and bars, Burns wants to schedule a communal mural-painting experience, where patrons design and create a mural, then take finished pieces home. All the work would be done, of course, while sipping wine. Proceeds would go to Graffiti HeArt.

* There's no outdoor seating. The sidewalk is just too narrow. But the front has garage doors.

* Food will be available. Expect charcuterie and cheese, homemade hummus and truffle popcorn. "Everything will be locally sourced as much as possible," Burns said.

* CLE Urban Winery is modeled after Olney Winery in Olney, Maryland, just north of Washington, D.C.